February Goal: Exercise!

So, for Feburary 2015 my personal, modest goal was to wake up a wee bit early and exercise a little bit every day (Sundays as exceptions). February's goal average came out to be just about as much as January's... hovering around 70%. Yes, that sounds like a C-. Something that I generally do not find acceptable. But I will tell you that I feel okay. (Wow have my standards lowered! :)) Why do I feel okay? Because 1) it was a little more and better than what I've ever done in the past and, 2) I also incorporated January's goal into my life. So... it's kind of like a President Hinckley motivator: try a little harder to do a little better. This is better goal-making and keeping than previous years, so... I like that!

Full disclosure: I think I only woke up early ONCE to get up and exercise. But I did exercise more than normal on a more frequent basis. I'm not talking about running miles. I'm talking about yoga, doing a short workout via an iPad app, and surfset! A friend of mine in the neighborhood is trying to become certified as a SurfSet instructor, which is basically like an aerobic and yoga work out on a surfboard that is suspended on exercise balls to give the illusion of actually balancing on the water. Pretty fun! It was kind of a win-win-win: I needed to work out, she motivated me by offering to be a 'personal trainer' in something new, and I served as her guinea pig. It was once a week and is still continuing. Luckily she lives in the same neighborhood, otherwise on some of those crazy snow days I probably wouldn't have made it to her. We used to go on Wednesday nights to the gym at the Walter Reed so that I could do yoga with this wonderful instructor and Marc would take the girls swimming, but we had guests and snow and the kids had colds, so February wasn't a great month for that, but other things filled the gap, like the iPad app. So yes. I did work out! Goooooal! And I liked it. I didn't wake up early, but that wasn't the point. I feel happy.

Additionally, I've been keeping up with my January goal. Again, not on a daily basis, but I have been reading my scriptures more and taking more notes and attending an Institute class on the Old Testament. We're studying Isaiah and it's so nice. I thrive in structured learning environments! So even though I was only about 65-70% on my January goal, I'm glad that that goal didn't just disappear at the end of the month. It's become somewhat of a habit! And isn't that the... goal? Yes, yes it is. I feel more cognizant of both my thoughts and spiritual study and cherish the notes I take and I am more mindful of listening to my body and wanting to exercise a bit. Hopefully some degree of these goals will continue to carry with me and truly become habits... Happy!

Modest beginnings for a better year. Stay tuned... March goal: oral hygiene! Read: floss EVERY day.

Here's some pics!

We hang out at the DC Temple Visitor Center at least 1 out of every 4 Sundays after church. My girls love it! It helps pass the time while we are waiting for Marc to finish up clerking stuff. The senior missionary couple there, the Whites, have become friends because we frequent so much!

This girl may be 'underweight' according to some paranoid pediatricians (you can see there is still no love lost between me and pediatric medical personnel - bah!) but this girl can eat! Believe you me! 1 year old, 15 pounds, loves food. 

My two home-bodies. While Madeleine is at school Sophie and Claire have really learned to bond. Most of the time. They love this "magic" sand!

Gymnastics this winter. Both girls have much improved since last year. Madeleine's got mad rope climbing skills and Sophie has become so much more confident on the beam!